Archives For 30/11/1999

Kiwi Ranger – at a place near you!

Sarah Mankelow —  14/12/2011

Kiwi Ranger is a fun, interactive programme for kids of all ages – from 3 to 103! It’s a great way for families to explore new places together and learn something as well as having heaps of fun. Each Kiwi Ranger place has its own booklet full of fun activities and walks to do, developed by Mick Abbott and Carli Richter of Shades of Green. Complete the activities to earn a badge – unique to each location – and the title of Kiwi Ranger.

Blank Kiwi Ranger badge.

Blank Kiwi Ranger badge

It’s only in the South Island so far, but with more sites coming on board, it will soon be at a place near you!

In fact, where would you like to see Kiwi Ranger go next?

Design a badge for your favourite place and be in to win a fabulous books and brochures prize pack!

Entries close 1 February 2012-the winner will be announced on the DOC website.

Worksheets available online at www.doc.govt.nz/kiwiranger

Check out the badges for the current sites below for some ideas-and to plan your next family holiday!

Aoraki/Mt Cook Kiwi Ranger badge

Aoraki/Mt Cook Kiwi Ranger badge

Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park

Come and marvel at high snow covered peaks–including Aoraki/Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. Experience stunning glaciers and lakes filled with huge icebergs. Take the Scavenger hunt challenge to explore the park and track down its special features in all its nooks and crannies. Spot amazing plants, birds and animals in the stained glass windows in the Visitor Centre.

Come and be an Aoraki/Mt Cook Kiwi Ranger! Pick up your booklet at the national park visitor centre.

Kids say…
“I am going to reuse, recycle, reduce and limit the amount of water I use” 
“I pledge to promote our beautiful surroundings and protect our country”

Arthur's Pass Kiwi Ranger badge.

Arthur's Pass Kiwi Ranger badge

Arthur’s Pass

Kea, kiwi and kakariki are some of the incredible New Zealand birds you may hear or spot on your Arthur’s Pass Kiwi Ranger adventure – in our old alpine village high in the Southern Alps.

Close your eyes and fill up your senses by finding a spot where you can smell the spray from the Devils Punchbowl waterfall; or take your shoes off and, very gently, let the moss between your toes. Interview a ranger to find out how you can help the clever kea keep out of trouble, or come and join in the Kea Krypton Challenge as part of our summer programme  in January 2012.

Come and be an Arthur’s Pass Kiwi Ranger! Pick up your booklet at the national park visitor centre on SH 73, Arthur’s Pass village.

 Kids say….
“I will plant trees and flowers for the bees”
“I won’t have long showers, and I will tell my mum to use organic cleaners” 

Franz Josef Kiwi Ranger badge.

Franz Josef Kiwi Ranger badge

Franz Josef

Franz Josef is a really special place with a huge icy glacier right next to lush green rainforest… and then the beach is really close to that! Great walks will take you to all these places – even to Okarito – ‘O’ for awesome!

It’s a great place to Rock on! Take two river rocks to make your own rockflour fingerprints! It’s raining its pouring? Make your own rain gauge to discover why they call it rainforest!

Come and be a Franz Josef Kiwi Ranger! Pick up your booklet at the national park visitor centre 13 State Highway 6.

 Kids say …
“I liked finding out which trees grow on the West Coast compared to where I live on the other side of the mountains”

Orokonui Ecosanctuary.

Orokonui Ecosanctuary

 Orokonui Ecosanctuary

Journey into our forest of knowledge. Experience lush cloud forest and behold a myriad of rare birds and plants – including kaka, robin, saddleback, kiwi and rifleman. Walk through our pest-resistant fence and go back in time to a world without mammalian predators. Stretch your ears and do a sound map of bird song or find water creatures in the streams and ponds.

Come and be an Orokonui Ecosanctuary Kiwi Ranger! Pick up your booklet at the Ecosanctuary visitor centre.

 Kids say…
“I will make bird feeders”
“I will not let our native animals go extinct.  I will kill pests.” 

Nelson Lakes Kiwi Ranger badge.

Nelson Lakes Kiwi Ranger badge

Nelson Lakes

 It’s amazing to stop and listen to tui and korimako/bellbird singing in the forests of Nelson Lakes – how they combine with the whoosh of wings, whispering winds or the lapping of waves on nearby Lake Rotoiti to create a symphony of sound.

A sound map is just one of the fun things to do here as part of Kiwi Ranger – or you can get up close and personal with eels/tuna, taste the sweet honeydew and more.

Come and be a Nelson Lakes Kiwi Ranger! Pick up your booklet at the Nelson Lakes Visitor Centre.  

Kids say…
“I will cut pine trees down and shoot pests”  

Mt Aspiring Kiwi Ranger badge.

Mt Aspiring Kiwi Ranger badge

Mt Aspiring

Mt Aspiring National Park is part of the Te Wähipounamu South West New Zealand World Heritage Area which means it’s so special that protecting it concerns all people. Explore what lives in its high mountains, remote wilderness and river valleys by becoming a forest detective, doing a scavenger hunt or pinpointing pesky pests. Be creative and sketch your favourite rock – how did it become that shape? Check out other kids having heaps of Kiwi Ranger fun in our new video!

Come and be a Mt Aspiring Kiwi Ranger! Pick up your booklet at Mt Aspiring National Park (Wanaka) and Makarora visitor centres.

Kids say…
“I will never feed kea”
“I will make sure my cat never hurts birds”

In Canterbury, National parks, Nelson/Marlborough, Old Conservation Week posts, Otago, Recreation, West Coast
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Ghost town comes alive with Kiwi Ranger

Sarah Mankelow —  07/12/2011
Denniston Kiwi Ranger badge.

Denniston Kiwi Ranger badge

Does becoming a history detective, having sword fights with icicles or exploring rusty relics in a ghost town sound like fun to you?

You can do all this and more, by becoming a Kiwi Ranger at Denniston Historic Reserve this summer. Kiwi Ranger is a fun, interactive programme for kids of all ages – from 3 to 103!

Kiwi Ranger is currently “live” at six sites; Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin and five national parks; Westland, Nelson Lakes, Mt Aspiring, Arthur’s Pass and Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. Each site has its own booklet full of fun activities and walks to do. Completing the activities earns you a badge – unique to each location – and the title of Kiwi Ranger.

It’s a great way for families to explore new places together and learn something as well as having heaps of fun!

Q Wagons at Denniston; photographer Peter Robertson.

Q Wagons at Denniston

Denniston near Westport is the newest Kiwi Ranger site. Once NZ’s largest producing coal mining site and home to around 1500 people, these days it’s a ghost town. But like all good ghost towns there are lots of cool relics and historic remains, stories of human hardship and inspiration.

Denniston’s Kiwi Ranger booklet provides an enjoyable and interactive way to explore the site and get people thinking about what it was like to live and work here.

A scavenger hunt activity gets you looking for ‘Q’ wagons, a banjo shovel or the Banbury Arches. You can become a history detective and find out what life was like her 125 years ago when the place as buzzing. Or you could figure out what kids used to do for fun here before TV, before lego and playstation.

The Denniston Kiwi Ranger booklet can be picked up from the Buller DOC office in Russell Street, Westport. Return your completed booklet to claim your badge!

Check out the Kiwi Ranger website to find out about other Kiwi Ranger locations, where to pick up your booklets and to print out some other activities at www.kiwiranger.org.nz

Blank Kiwi Ranger badge.

Blank Kiwi Ranger badge

Design a badge competition

Where would you like to see Kiwi Ranger go next? Design a badge for your favourite place and be in to win a fabulous books and brochures prize pack! Entries close 1 February 2012 – the winner will be announced on the DOC website.

Worksheets available online at www.doc.govt.nz/kiwiranger

In Historic, Old Conservation Week posts, Recreation, West Coast
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Meet our forest families free fun day at Riccarton Bush, Christchurch

Sarah Mankelow —  15/09/2011
William and Josie Webb meet our forest friends in Riccarton Bush.

William and Josie Webb meet our forest friends in Riccarton Bush

Come to Riccarton Bush, Christchurch this coming Sunday
To our meet the forest families, at our free family fun day

We’ve got guided walks and games, crafts and treats
And some forest creatures we’d love you to meet 

Kiwi chicks are hiding – you won’t see them this Sunday
But we’ll have a kiwi egg hunt – come join in the play! 

Weta; S Parkkali.

Weta is waiting to meet you!

Five wētā are hidden in the kahikatea tree
With a word to spell out – what will it be? 

Geckos are great – with coats grey, brown or green
Check out some photos of geckos we’ve seen

 Piwakawaka is friendly and might flit by
As we walk through the forest, don’t forget to say hi!

These forest friends want you to come out and play
At Riccarton Bush, Christchurch, at our free family day!

But if Christchurch is too far away for you to roam
Look below in this blog for stuff to do at home!

Sunday 18 September, 10am–4pm
Riccarton Bush, Ngahere Street entrance
Christchurch, South Island

To find out more and go into the draw for a fun pack, visit www.doc.govt.nz/forestfamilies

 ‘My heart is like a forest’ things to make

On the Conservation Week website there are some things to make and do at home, including six of our fabulous forest creatures.

Cut and colour pages. Print out the A4 pages, colour in the heart-shaped pieces, cut them out then put them back together! 

Kaleidocycle

Make this kaleidocycle for Conservation Week

Kaleidocycle. Ever heard of a kaleidocycle? Download the A3 instruction sheet to make one for yourself!

Face masks. Become a bird for a day! Print off one of these A3 sheets, colour them in and cut them out to create your very own bird mask!

In Canterbury , , , ,
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Raising kids that care for kea

Sarah Mankelow —  22/06/2011

 
Fatcat and Fishface: Birdbrain CD (MP3)
The smartest bird in the world is me aha
Lord of the mountains and everything I see aha
To eat I use my curved and scimitar-like beak aha
To break into your cars I do not a key aha
Kea, kea, kea, cleverest of all

Dangerous tucker – nibbling on twisties is bad for a kea’s health – the food is unnatural and the car park is not a good placeto be when cars are backing out!

My seven-year old son has decided that his next birthday will be a kea party. He tells me they are his second-favourite bird; after kiwi of course. A recent visit to Arthur’s Pass cemented this amour – his request of seeing a kea was fulfilled with a stop at the Otira Gorge car park. We watched (and played catch with) four kea that were checking us out as much as we were them! While we were there, cars came and went, took photos – threw their lunch onto the asphalt – then left again. Despite all the signs and brochures, people still can’t resist feeding these cheeky beggars – the car park was littered with bread and lunch-wraps.

William and kea check each other out – each as curious as the other!

Turning a child’s interest into action is the next challenge for a parent wanting to raise the next generation of environmentalists. Luckily for us, and for kea, The Kea Conservation Trust offers lots of opportunities for families like us to get involved.

The trust is about to launch into their annual winter kea survey. Anyone can do it; it’s as easy as downloading a survey form from their website to take with you when you venture into kea country, filling it out and sending it in. You can conduct your counts on as many (or as few) Saturday and Sunday afternoons (anytime for as long as you like between 12pm – 4.30pm) throughout July.

What a great reason to escape the Christchurch quake zone and head into the Southern Alps.

Josie’s rock-hopping antics are of great interest to a curious kea.

For those that want to learn more, Tamsin Orr-Walker, Chair of the Kea Conservation Trust, is giving talks at the visitor centres in Arthur’s Pass and Aoraki / Mt Cook National Parks. She will be in Aoraki/Mt Cook on 1 July, and in Arthur’s Pass in Sunday 3 July.

Find out more on their website: www.keaconservation.co.nz

How much time do you have for kea?

If you have 15 minutes

Purchase a calendar, card or DVD from the Kea Conservation Trust shop; all proceeds support their kea projects.

If you have 1 hour

Listen to a talk given by Kea Conservation Trust Chair Tamsin Orr-Walker; on Friday 1 July in Aoraki/ Mt Cook or Sunday 3 July in Arthur’s Pass.

Check out the Kea Conservation website for other locations.

If you have 5 hours

Take a walk in the Southern Alps and fill out a kea survey form if you spot a kea.

If you have 5 days

Visit some places that people and kea clash like ski fields and national parks. Pick up rubbish and talk to people about why they shouldn’t feed kea.

If you have 1 month

If you have Microsoft Publisher, you could help the Kea Conservation Trust with producing their annual newsletter.

If you have 1 year

Volunteer for one of the three positions advertised on the Kea Conservation Trust website; treasurer; regional liaisons or volunteer co-ordinator.

In Canterbury, Native animals, Volunteers , ,
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Kiss me Kate – Canterbury’s top places to propose to your princess

Sarah Mankelow —  03/05/2011

There’s nothing like a Royal Wedding to get us girls dreaming about our own Prince William Charming. Sigh.

We all need a little romance in our lives – some of us more than others. And those of us who spend time in the outdoors in our parks and other places know just how special and mood-enhancing these places can be. So, why not make it official boys? Take us out in the wilderness, get down on one knee and make us feel like a princess. Here are my top spots in Canterbury for a proposal with a fairytale ending…

Castle Hill – Kura Tawhiti Conservation Area

Getting there: Drive west of Christchurch for about 80 minutes

Castle Hill has plenty of hidden corners for a romantic tryst

Come on – it’s got Castle in the name – it has to be good! Even without the cliché connection this is a fantastic spot – the stone outcrops that earned its name make it an awe-inspiring place to visit. And it’s amazing how you can get lost in this place – there can be 20 cars in the car park but in the reserve itself you can wander around unnoticed for hours; plenty of hidden corners for a romantic tryst.

Kura Tawhiti is a topuni site – history tells it was claimed by the son of celebrated chief Tuahuriri so that he could gather the green glowing feathers of kakapo in the area for his daughter Hine Mihi to wear (Aotearoa’s own royal fashion).

Learn more about Castle Hill – Kura Tawhiti Conservation Area

Millennium Walk – Arthur’s Pass National Park

Getting there: Drive west from Christchurch for about 2 hrs; the walk is only 10 min return.

Wintertime at "Chapel of the Snows"

A marvellous spot for a midnight proposal – the walk goes up behind the quaint Arthur’s Pass ‘Chapel of Snows’ to a viewing platform overlooking the Avalanche Creek Waterfall, which is lit at night. In the middle of winter, snow and icicles hang like glistening diamonds and frosty air requires lots of close cuddles. Plus, when you are ready to throw your own Royal Wedding, the back window of the chapel gives a view directly onto the waterfall – bringing the proposal and the ceremony together to make memories that last a lifetime.

A frozen waterfall and snow covered rocks at Avalanche Creek, Arthur's Pass National Park provide the perfect backdrop for romance

Learn more about Millennium Walk (and other short walks around Arthur’s Pass National Park) 

Mt Sunday – Hakatere Conservation Park

Getting there: Drive south then west to Mt Somers township then into the Ashburton Lakes, past Lake Clearwater; about 2 ½ hrs from Christchurch.

Lord of the Rings fans will know this lump of glacial rock as the capital of Rohan and home to Meduseld, the hall of King Theoden and his niece Éowyn. So we have rings, we have princesses and kings – we have a small hill to climb, which makes us all feel good when we reach the top. Apparently true Tolkein enthusiasts get dressed up into costumes to make the climb – that’s optional although very cool – and lets face it Éowyn’s white dress would grace any Princess bride.

Learn more about Mount Sunday

Mt Princess – St James Conservation Area

Getting there: St James is behind Hanmer Springs – this climb starts near Lake Tennyson, a further 45 km along Tophouse Road (shingle).

For true backcountry mountaineers who prefer to feel “on the top of the world” before making a life-changing decision like marriage, then Mt Princess must be for you (yes again, a corny name). This climb (2126 m) starts from near Lake Tennyson, which also has romantic connotations. Alfred Tennyson was Poet Laureate during Queen Victoria’s reign and is in the top ten of most quoted writers; including the phrase “Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all”. So once you and your true backcountry love reach the top, quote her some poetry and gift her a rock.

Learn more about St James Conservation Area

What would be (or is) your preferred proposal spot? I’d love to hear from you…

In Canterbury, National parks, Recreation , , , , , , ,
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